news

The Sacred Sites of the Incas in and around Cusco, Peru, have been a special place for Shinnyo-en since 2014, when Her Holiness Shinso Ito visited the city to participate in a ceremony for Prayer for World Peace, which was held on September 14th, at Saksaywaman, an ancient walled complex on the northern outskirts of Cusco.

On September 2, 2016, a ceremony was held at the sacred Andean site of Qorikancha in Cusco, to commemorate and continue the Prayer for World Peace. A delegation of more than 300 spiritual leaders, representing a number of ancient faith traditions who share a commitment to collective healing and world peace, Andean, Christian and Buddhist practitioners, as well as civic leaders and local musicians, gathered to celebrate this ceremony.

Following to the sound of Andean Pututus and a Catholic choir, priests entered into the site. Andean priests offered their prayers at the sacred stone and practiced water ablutions at the sacred fountain followed by an ancient Andean fire ritual.

The Dalai Lama visited the ancient Incan capital of Cusco on Monday where he participated in a traditional Andean ceremony. The Buddhist leader met with some 20 representatives of the Quechua community of ‘Altomisayoqs qeros’.

The Dalai Lama and the community leaders exchanged small gifts in a ceremony that took place in the Qoricancha Temple (Temple of the Sun) in the heart of Cusco. The indigenous leaders gave a pair of small Incan bags and a seeds, while the Dalai Lama offered “kathas” (Tibetan scarves) as a symbol of friendship.

The Dalai Lama also gave a short speech where he emphasized the importance of combining ancient beliefs with modern ideas. He identified Cusco as such a place where there is a synthesis between old and new.